Causes of the Conflict

1. Jewish vs Arab Nationalism
2. British decision to end mandate
3. UN role; Partition plan
4. Israel’s declaration of independence
5. Arab rejection of the state of Israel
6. Israel’s control of the area
7. Rise of Palestinian Nationalist movements

Consequences

1. Protracted conflict: 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973
2. Increased superpower influence in Middle East
3. Role of the PLO
4. Growth of extreme groups
5. Increase in political activism and violence
6. Hardliners on both sides
7. Slow Peace Process
E.g. Camp David Accords
8. UN operations in Mid East
Oslo Mediation
9. Failure of 2000 Camp David

CAUSES

1. JEWISH vs ARAB NATIONALISM

Arab Nationalism
Historical Precedent
Palestine became the key issue
Hoped that this would provide the unity that Arab Nationalism had lacked before
Pan Arabism

Jewish Nationalism
History
Religious
Creation of a Jewish Homeland; in Palestine

2. DECISION TO END MANDATE

British
- Balfour Declaration; promised Jews and broke promises to Arabs
- Voted for a separation in Palestine, between Jews and Arabs

3. PARTITION PLAN

Decision
- British government decided in February 1947 that it would hand the problem over to the United Nations, and would leave Palestine in May 1948.
- The United Nations appointed a Special Committee on Palestine which reported in August 1947 in favour of the partition of Palestine into two states, Jewish and Arab, within a joint frame¬work Failed to implement the Partition Plan
- Led to Palestine being split 3 ways
- .The State of Israel encompassed over 77 percent of the territory. Jordan occupied East Jerusalem and the hill country of central Palestine (the West Bank). Egypt took control of the coastal plain around the city of Gaza (the Gaza Strip). The Palestinian Arab state envisioned by the UN partition plan was never established.
- Led to War.

4. ISRAEL’S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND ISRAEL’S CONTROL OF THE AREA AND ISRAEL’S CREATION.

Declaration
- May 14, 1948, before the expiration of the British Mandate
- The new state and its government was recognized de facto minutes later by the United States and three days later de jure by the Soviet Union.
- It was, however, opposed by many others, particularly Arabs (both the surrounding Arab states and the Palestinian Arabs), who felt it was being established at their expense.
- Israel kept or took much property, the Absentee Property Law
- Treatment of Arabs was generally bad.

Jerusalem
- Important to all sides

5. RISE OF PALESTINIAN NATIONALIST MOVEMENTS AND ARAB RESISTANCE

Groups
- PLO
- Hamas








CONSEQUENCES

1. PROTRACTED CONFLICT

Wars and Skirmishes of the Arab-Israeli Conflicts

i) The 1947-1949 War (Israeli Independence War)
Consequences
Under the UN agreement signed by the other Arab states and Israel, former Palestine was divided into three parts. Israel controlled 77% of it, while East Jerusalem and the West Bank were allotted to Transjordan and the Gaza Strip was given to Egypt.

ii) The Suez Crisis (29 October to 6 November 1956)

Causes
July 1956, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.
Israel saw a situation to exploit
Consequences
Through manipulation of the media, Egyptian President Nasser persuaded his people, and other Arabs, that Egypt had won. The Canal was more Egyptian than before, and he gained great support throughout the Arab world.

iii) The Six Day War (5 June to 10 June 1967)

Causes
Israel’s water policy angered Arabs
Egypt and other states responded by moving troops to border.
Israel launched pre-emptive strikes
Consequences
Israel emerged as a dominant Arab force in the region, defeating a combined Arab force that was far more superior in weapons and equipment.
Israel annexed the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. The West Bank and East Jerusalem was gained from Jordan and the Golan Heights were conquered from Syria.

iv) Yom Kippur (6 October to 22 October 1973)

Causes
Israel then started to implement resettlement policies in the Sinai and had plans to build a Mediterranean Port near in Sinai.
This worried Sadat and he felt that the only way to recover the territory was to stage an attack on Egypt.
Consequences
After being caught so badly off guard, the Israeli forces managed a rapid recovery and recaptured nearly all the territories initially lost.

v) Other crises


2. ROLE OF PLO

Moderate vs Radical
At first it was the radical, main enemy of Israel but this changed in the early 1980s (possibly after Lebanon War)

AIMS
Wants a Palestinian Homeland
Belief that Israel should not be there.

3. Extremist Elements and Hardliners on both sides

Multiple Groups from Arabs
- Hamas
- Fedayeen
- Fatah

From Israel
- Irgun and Stern Gang
- But not so prevalent after 1950s.

4. SLOW PEACE PROCESS

Why
- Bitterness
- Israel’s presence
- Western Support

Camp David, 1973

Madrid Conference, 1991

Oslo, 1993

Camp David, 2000

5. ROLE OF SUPER POWERS

6. ROLE OF UN